PSY323H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Special Pleading, Meta-Analysis, Operational Definition
Lecture 4:
• Types of research:
1) Longitudinal Research:
Strengths: high acclaim, important results, reliable.
Weaknesses: hard to do, people drop out.
2) Box-Score or Counting:
Strengths: Easiest to do, you just use all past research, and examine it
equally.
Weakness: Studies are examined equally when studies are not equal
in size, type, etc. So, it is not a very good research method. Weighing
a study where there were 400 participants the same as one with 20
people is BS.
3) Meta-analysis:
Strengths: Gold standard in gender research. There is a statistical
analysis which looks at comparison and number of people in the
study. This is called effect size. So, meta-analysis takes a whole bunch
of studies with their effect sizes and gives you out an overall effect
size. And this one number is super reliable in comparing things.
Weakness: Choosing studies is a subjective process. So, if you choose
studies which on their own support your hypothesis/idea, you get a
biased result (‘special pleading’). So you need to randomly select the
studies and there are different ways to do this, including computer
programs which do this.
• Gender Similarities Hypothesis:
• Women and men are generally more similar than different.
Interpretation of findings.
BRING THIS ARTICLE TO THE MID-TERM.
Notes on article so I can bring this in.
• HELPING BEHAVIOURS:
General Helpfulness: very little difference between males and females in
helping.
Meta-analysis of 182 comparisons found that there was only a +0.13
effect size. In a meta-analysis looking at the effect of gender on general
helpfulness with 182 reports it was found that men were slightly more
helpful than females (d=+0.13).
However, there were specific differences (research studies) that seem to
show a larger differences than there is overall.
1) Men are more likely to help if helping would be considered
dangerous. E.g.: picking up a hitchhiker.
2) Different special skills for helping had different genders more likely to
help.
However, as far as similarities:
1) Both men and women are equally likely to mail a stamped letter that
appears to be lost.
Altruism: helping others without expectation of reward/glory with
possible risk/consequence to oneself.
Circumstances: such as danger, etc.
Stereotypes: it is usually associated with men. Most altruism is
connected with danger so it is connected to men. However, there was
the idea that there are many cases where women can help as well. I.e.:
in the second world war, many people ran for their lives (i.e.: Jewish
people), and there were many people who hid them (cornered them and
hid them), this was done at a risk to themselves but they still did it, and
